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Ben and Ed

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A zombie game with a twist. Ben and Ed puts you in the running shoes of Ed, an athlete who died of a heart attack minutes after winning the Candy Fun Marathon silver medal and became the first undead. Days later, he was found and befriended by a young boy named Ben. This was not to last, as later they came to the attention of Hans Showmaster, who kidnaps Ben in order to "persuade" Ed to take part in his new show "Rundead".

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The gameplay seems relatively simple on the surface. Get from point A to point B in an obstacle course. The twists come from the sheer volume of large blades and laser beams seeking to chop you up. Sound problematic? Just remember that you're a zombie. It doesn't matter if you lose an arm/leg or two, or even your head!

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A Boy and His X: A Boy and His Zombie, as showcased in the opening sequence, which looks similar to a kid playing with their dog.

All for Nothing: After enduring many levels of Platform Hell, the player expects a happy ending after Ed and Ben are reunited, only to discover that Ed never intended to rescue Ben, he just wanted a human meal.

An Arm and a Leg: Getting cut to bits in this game is an inevitability. But you can't die from blood loss or anything silly like that! You're a zombie!

Crapsack World: Ben is explicitly stated to live "in a crappy world", which by look alone is a destroyed wasteland. The only other human character encountered in the game holds him hostage for the sake of baiting a zombie into performing and being sliced and smashed apart for the public's entertainment.

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Cruel Twist Ending: Hans Showmaster is defeated in the final level and Ben and Ed are back together again, embracing each other upon being reunited. Everything seems happy until Ed starts eating Ben. Ed had never been trying to save him, he was a dog racing after a juicy rabbit.

Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: If Ed falls off the stage or has his head destroyed, the player simply needs to hit Enter and he'll respawn no problem. The only real punishment for dying is having to do a section of level again.

Deadly Game: Well it would be, if our protagonist wasn't dead to begin with.

Determinator: Ed. Even as he gets cut up and slapped silly by the traps, he just won't stop to get to Ben.

Downer Ending: After finally catching up to him at the end of the last level, Ed proceeds to violently and brutally devour Ben, apparently having only seen him as another meal.

Foreshadowing: In the opening cutscene, there is a poster next to Hans reading: "Who betrays his best friend for a mediocre price." Even in the very beginning of the Steam Greenlight trailer for the game, Ed is seen eating a young human kid. He does the same to Ben at the end of the game with Ben having falsely believed Ed to be his best friend the whole time.

Freeze-Frame Bonus: If you pause the trailer for the game at 0:53 at just the right time, it says "OBEY HANS SHOWMASTER! BUY BEN AND ED!"

Game-Over Man: If Ed dies, the mug of Hans Showmaster pops up on the screen.

Human Cannonball: Sometimes there will be cannons dotted around a map for Ed to shoot himself out of.

Non-Standard Game Over: As shown in this video, if you attempt to finish the final level as Ben, the game crashes, since it is impossible for Ben to eat himself.

Odd Friendship: Most definitely Ed and Ben, a zombified adult athlete and a traumatized, lonely little kid. Subverted when it turns out that the "Friendship" part is all in Ben's head.

Villain Protagonist: Ed is a flesh-eating zombie who can kill chickens on his obstacle run, only really qualifying as heroic because he's trying to rescue his young human friend, Ben. Then it turns out that even this isn't true; he sees the humans he can get his hands onto as nothing more than his next meal, including Ben.

Wham Episode: The final level. Ed was never Ben's friend as he thought he was.

Would Hurt a Child: Hans demonstrates no moral compunction about kidnapping and caging Ben and later Ed proves even less remorseful in eating Ben.

Post-End Game Content: Bencalypse mode, unlocked by beating the game. You play as a zombified Ben after the ending and make your way through the dark, abandoned courses left behind after Han's defeat. And anyone inside can be eaten by Ben with that same "Press E to Celebrate" text, The end of this alternate campaign has Ben escaping outside. You are also able to play the old courses from the main story as Ben afterwards.

Plot Twist: Turns out, Ed was just like all other zombies and just saw Ben as another meal to tear apart and devour.

Shout-Out: In the final level on the road before "celebrating with" Ben, You can spot a palette swap of Ben in a bush near one of the houses. If you get close to it... Hans reappears to give you one last message: "BEN DROWNS". Cue Ed exploding in a fountain of blood and that taunting look on his face before you respawn.

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